Where in the world is meg?!

Namaste everyone,

Well, after 8 1/2 months, 24 flights, 15 countries and a crazy amount of kilometers traveled, my massive adventure has come to an end.

The last days we spent in India were amazing. Ash and Kristin were headed to the Punjab, a largely Sikh farming state just north of Delhi, and my plan had been to go to Agra to finally see the Taj, but I decided that since the Taj isn't going anywhere, I'd rather spend my last days in India with great people.

We stayed with an absolutely amazing Sikh family who are friends with Ash's mom. They welcomed us into their house, fed us amazing, food, and even gave us some money when we left - this hospitality is the REAL India! Their two kids, Priya and Prince, were adorable - Prince was very shy, but Priya had such a wonderful spirit - she's only 10 but immediately took over my camera for the day and took tons of pictures of us. She is SO smart, told me that she wants to do EVERY career, and that she doesn't want to get married because in India when you get married you have to take care of the house and you can't have a job! That kid is definitely going places...

We spent our two days there biking around the farmlands. Ash and I got into a VERY minor motorcycle accident (don't worry mum!) but otherwise we had an incredible, relaxing time, chatting with the family, playing with the kids, trying on Punjabi dresses and showing off my sari, and helping the grandmother make roti and paratha. Our bus ride back to Delhi was quite an adventure though - we took a public bus since it was a third of the cost of the deluxe bus, and were all sleeping when we were woken up by the bus swerving almost off the highway. The bus pulled over, a truck pulled in front, and all the men on the bus got off to yell at the driver of the truck. Apparently there had been a minor accident and the people on the bus were blaming the truck driver. Anyway, the bus sped off, only to have the (obviously drunk) truck driver swerve in front of us and chase us down the highway! We pulled over again, the truck driver got out with a giant stick, and a fight ensued...luckily the police arrived quickly and we made it safely to Delhi!

I'm now in London at my friend's house, having been to a western grocery store and taken in the quiet, clean London streets. It's such a surreal feeling to be back in this world. I find I'm already missing the chaos of India!

• **

The past few weeks I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the last 8 1/2 months and everything I've experienced. I spent over a year planning this trip, figuring out where to go, what to do there, and how to take on a trip of this size. As I planned, I imagined myself having fun in all these places, meeting people, and somehow 'figuring out my life'. Travel for me, before I started this trip, simply involved going to new places and seeing new things.

But of course, this trip has been so much more than just seeing sights and meeting people. I've learned things about myself - that I can handle just about anything, no matter how dirty, uncomfortable, or sad, that I have the greatest, most supportive parents in the world, and exactly what I need to keep myself sane. I've learned that plans always change and that usually the change turns out to be more fun than the original plan. I've learned that even the worst problems seem more manageable after a hot shower and a good meal. I've discovered things about places I never thought I'd visit, like Kashmir; that these places, although steeped in conflict and instability, are at their core so similar to where we live. I've been lucky enough to meet people from far flung corners of the world, people who through their sincerity, hospitality, and genuine kindness have broken down stereotypes that I had. I've met fellow travelers of all ages and all stages in life, people who I would never have connected with had I not ventured out my door.

It's these fellow travelers who have made my trip the amazing experience it's been. Misadventures, and I've had many of them, are so easy to handle when shared with someone else. I always know, even when things are really bad, that eventually I'll have a great time laughing about it with other travelers. I think when you travel, you are the best version of yourself - open to new people, new points of view, new experiences. I hope that I'll be able to keep this openness as I venture back home and back to real life.

I'm now trying to get myself back into that 'real life' mode, a world where you aren't always meeting new people and hearing new viewpoints. I know that I'm a traveler now and always will be. I thought, before I left on this trip, that I'd see the world and then move on with my life, but I know now that I'm a traveler for good.

While in the UK for the next three weeks I'm just going to be visiting friends, so I won't be blogging since it will be pretty boring. It's been an amazing, life-changing adventure and It's been great to share it with people I love. I'm signing off for now, but don't worry, I have a feeling I'll be traveling again very soon

Last round of pictures, from Dharamsala, Kashmir, Punjab and Delhi:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2362739&id=13604534&l=90f90008d6

Love you all!
xxx
meg

Hello everyone!

Wow, what an amazing week I've had. I've spent it in two very different areas of the Himalayas - Dharamsala, which is like a little piece of Tibet in India, and Kashmir, which feels more like Pakistan or Afghanistan than India.

Ash and I headed up to Dharamsala last week after our few days in Delhi. We had to take an overnight bus there, and were lead to the bus by a man who had to take us on a long walk and on two different trains just to get there! It took us two hours from when we left with the man to when the bus actually started moving. Ash and I were stuck in the back, on seats that didn't recline, for the very long and very bumpy ride.

We arrived in Dharamsala early in the morning to pouring rain - the first rain I've seen since December 3rd in Nairobi! We headed to the guesthouse where two of Ash's friends were staying - Robin and Kristin, both fellow Canadians. After having a quick breakfast with them we spent most of the day sleeping - we were far too tired and it was far too miserable out to do anything else!

Luckily the next morning was sunny and beautiful. Dharamsala is perched on a mountain side, surrounded by Himalayan peaks. It's the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, so there are burgundy-clad monks and Tibetans everywhere. It felt so different to the rest of India! In the morning we hiked up the mountain side a bit, taking in the fresh air and incredible views of the valley. We came across a little Tibetan school where we hung out with the kids for awhile and Ash played soccer with them. After saying goodbye to Robin, who had to head back to Delhi to get back home, we went to the main Tibetan temple. The Dalai Lama is currently giving a lecture on certain Buddhist mantras, so we sat outside the temple with hundreds of others (mostly Tibetans) listening to his lecture (mostly chanting) and watched as he left the temple and walked to his house. He looks just the same as he does in all the pictures - a beaming, happy man.

It was really interesting being in a place filled with Tibetan refugees- that night there was a candle light vigile because there have recently been several arrests and crackdowns on gatherings in Tibet by the Chinese government. It was sad - China is essentially killing the Tibetan culture, but also hopeful - the Tibetan community in Dharmasala is keeping their culture alive. It was a beautiful, peaceful place to be.

The next day our real adventure started - the journey to Kashmir. We took a long, bumpy bus to Jammu, the winter capital of the Jammu-Kashmir state. The Jammu region is very stable as it's mostly Hindu, but Kashmir has for years been unstable. It's mostly Muslim, very similar to Pakistan in terms of religion and culture. During partition half of the region was given to India, and the other half to Pakistan. Kashmiris speak their own language (Kashmiri) and want their own country, separate from Pakistan and India.

Jammu was pretty boring and we just spent the night before grabbing another 12 hour bus to Srinagar, the summer capital of the region. The bus ride was long but beautiful, winding through the Himalayas. We were stopped a few times at checkpoints and once for about half an hour because the road was blocked due to landslides, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. We arrived in the dark, and were accosted by touts before the bus even stopped - apparently people at the last rest stop saw us on the bus (we were the only foreigners) and called ahead to their friends in Srinagar so they would know we were coming. We had made friends with a lovely woman on the bus and she told us to go with one of them since he was trustworthy. We walked through the dark, past many soldiers with massive guns and lots of barbed wire, to a cute little houseboat owned by a lovely Muslim family. Mohammed, a sweet old man who was insistent on making us very comfortable, his wife Ranu, and their son Yousef were so welcoming and kind. The houseboat normally costs 10 times what we paid, but since it's low season and Kashmir hasn't had many tourists lately, we got an amazing price. Yousef, who is around my age, is one of the happiest people I've ever met and was lovely to hang out with and chat (he also loved to play our music really loud and dance to it!) Ranu cooked us amazing food and Mohammed made us really feel at home. It was cold, but each morning and night he stocked the wood stove in our room and put a fire under the hot water tank so we could have hot showers!

Srinagar is absolutely beautiful. It's a valley, based around Dal Lake, surrounded by snow-capped Himalayas. You really feel like you're right at the top of the world, and you pretty much are - the mountains surrounding the city are among the tallest in the world. We spent our first day being guided around by Rafiq, our jolly rickshaw driver. We saw many many gardens and quite a few mosques. Kristin and I had to wear head scarves at times, and we got lots of stares as some of the only foreign tourists around, but people were very friendly. We met two men from Jammu at a restaurant at lunch, and ended up having dinner with them that night!

It's also a sad city - the buildings are very run down, some damaged from gun fights, others from the earthquake that hit the region in 2005. The poverty here is different than the rest of India - there, there's a feeling of resilience, of the sheer will to survive, but in Kashmir everything feels run down, as if after 60 years of fighting the people are resigned to an unstable life. There is a massive army presence and we saw more guns than I think I've ever seen in my life, and there are piles of barbed wire and check points throughout the city.

The next day we hung out by Dal Lake, the main lake of the city. We took a shikara ride, which is like a small gondola, around the lake, seeing the floating gardens and markets. We watched the sun set on the lake and had dinner with more Kashmiri friends we had made during the day.

Yesterday we got up bright and early and took a share-jeep to Gulmarg, Kashmir's main ski resort. It's a crazy little place - it looks and feels like any ski resort, but is quintessentially Indian - all day we were followed by people wanting to rent us skis, sleds, or get us into their restaurants! We took a gondola up the mountain and had an amazing cup of chai looking down on the ski resort and out to the massive peaks.

This morning, after saying goodbye to Mohammed and his family, we headed to the airport. I've never seen such security! Our rickshaw had to drop us off at the gate, 3 km from the airport entrance. We had our bags scanned and were patted down, and then had to take a bus to the airport entrance. Once again our bags were scanned and we were patted down. After checking our bags we were put through the security process once again (although the ladies patting me down were lovely - one of them pinched my cheek and told me I was beautiful!) My carry-on bag was completely emptied, and then we had to go outside to claim our checked baggage before it would be put on the flight. After having our bags scanned once again, we were finally able to board. I've never felt so safe getting on a plane - there's no way anyone could sneak anything through that security!

Tonight, after getting settled in Delhi, we headed to the Muslim area of the city to check out a Sufi music performance - basically Islamic gospel music. It was crazy just getting there - after a rickshaw ride to the area, we had to walk down a tangle of narrow alleyways packed with people, don our head scarves and remove our shoes. The performance was incredible, and Kristin and I got to meet a wonderful Afghani woman who works in Holland for a Canadian NGO! Very cool.

Tomorrow I was going to head to Agra to check out the Taj Mahal, but instead I've decided to go with Ash and Kristin to Ash's uncle's farm in Punjab. I've decided that the Taj isn't going anywhere, but I want to spend my last days in India with people I love!!

Can't believe it's almost all over...what an amazing 9 months it's been.

Pictures to come once I'm back in Delhi on Saturday
xxx
love meg

Hai Holi everyone!!!

Holi is the Hindu festival of colours, and it's absolutely insane! Getting here, however was another story...

On the train ride here from Calcutta, I was groped TWICE while I was sleeping. I was so traumatized I couldn't sleep the rest of the night...it was pretty awful. And then...I got sick. Really really sick, almost as sick as I was in Laos. Coming into town I had to walk to my hotel from the main road, since Varanasi is just tiny alleyways that aren't big enough for a rickshaw, and the walk seemed like it took forever...I finally got her, and spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in bed, horribly sick. I even had to get a doctor to come, because I wasn't getting better and I was getting really dehydrated...but I got better in time for Holi, which was amazing!!!

I woke up today to find out that the Canadians beat the US in the final hockey game of the Olympics, giving us more gold medals than ANY other country EVER in the winter olympics, so I knew it was going to be a good day! Holi is celebrated by running around in the streets getting pelted with colours - people throw powdered colour, mix the powders with water and shoot them out of water guns, throw water balloons filled with colours from the rooftops, and even drop buckets of coloured water from the roofs! Right at breakfast the fun began - at our rooftop restaurant we were suddenly under attack by a group of kids on a roof near by (kids spend Holi running along the rooftops, throwing colour down on people below, since it's too dangerous for children to be on the streets...) anyway the battle was on and soon we were throwing balloons and squirting them with colour as well!

Soon we decided to go out into the streets, where the real craziness is. Holi is one of the only times that Indians drink (they're generally not big drinkers) and so the streets are filled with drunken men and young kids just waiting to drench you in colour. We went in a large group, with lots of boys, since some Indian men get a bit grabby (something I am all too aware of!) and so it was good to have a big group for protection. We wandered through the little alleways until we got to the ghats, where the attacks began! One man, his hands COVERED in pink dye, grabbed my face and just rubbed the dye all over it, as I screamed! Kids were shooting us with the colour-filled water guns and balloons were thrown from the roof tops; we weren't unarmed though, and we fought back! After about half an hour of this craziness we headed back, to find the rooftop restaurant at our hotel was in full-on Holi mode! We joined in battles with kids on the roofs around us.

I had to spend about half an hour in the shower scrubbing at my face to get the pink off, and my shirt is totally ruined (but in good way!) but it was so fun! All day we've heard Hindi music being blasted from the streets and our rooftop restaurant, and now that the colour-fight part of the celebration is over, the sky has filled with kites flown by kids as they wait for the night time parties!

So glad I was feeling better FINALLY for this huge party!!! It's the first time since Thursday that I've eaten solid foods so I'm very happy.

And of course SO HAPPY CANADA WON!!! GO CANADA!!!!
█ ♥ █

pictures of Calcutta and Holi:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2362739&id=13604534&l=90f90008d6

xx
meg

Aahh!!

That's how I feel being back in north India...surrounded once again by chaos, crowds, incessantly beeping horns, insane traffic, touts, beggars, homeless children...Calcutta is in-your-face, nonstop! I'm definitely back in India! Everything here has been a bit of an adventure...

I arrived after flying from Kochi to Bangalore to Hyderabad to Calcutta, at midnight, and astonishingly my bag made it AND my airport pickup was waiting for me. He took me to my hotel, where in an email we agreed on a room that cost 350 rupees...but when I got there they said that the room was 500! I was pretty angry...they knew I was stuck, since I was a woman alone with all my luggage and couldn't exactly go out into the streets in the middle of the night to look for another place. Annoying! 150 rupees isn't that much money, but it's the principle of getting ripped off!

The next morning at breakfast I met Dave, a Scottish guy who has been in south India before but had just arrived in north India (Calcutta is definitely NOT the best place to land in India...far too overwhelming!) We spent the day wandering around, checked out the massive, beautiful Victoria Monument, and generally got lost. I had to mail a postcard, something that would take a few minutes at home...but of course, since it's India, it was a whole new adventure! Inside the post office were tons of people, none in any sort of line, and I went to the helpdesk to ask the lady what I should do - she yelled that I needed an envelope, and when I asked where I could get one, she just yelled 'outside! outside!' So out Dave and I went, wandered around looking for some envelope store, and finally found one in a bookstore run by a lovely old man who made me feel much better. We were soon back there - the scary helpdesk lady yelled at me that I needed to seal the envelope (apparently there is no tape at the post office, anywhere). So it was back to the bookstore, then back into the post office, where I had to see the mean lady one more time so she could weigh my envelope. Then it was into another line to get the stamps, but unfortunately the stamp man couldn't understand how many I needed (some other people in the 'line' helped me out) Once the whole process was over, Dave and I met an adorable 88 year old Indian man without a single tooth in his mouth who talked to us a bit about how crazy the post office was, and then went off on his bicycle!

Last night we went to see a Bollywood film staring Shah Rahk Khan (HUGE star here) about a guy with Asperger's in the US post-9/11...very good movie!

This morning we met up early with our new Aussie friend Brook, had a quick breakfast, and then headed to the Hooghly river to see the ghats. We also wanted to head to the Kali temple, the holiest place in the city, but this turned into yet another adventure! As soon as we got there a priest decided to be our guide...never a good thing. After we had left our shoes by the door (something we would REALLY regret later!) we headed into the main part of the temple, a tiny, dark room that was absolute chaos - people were pushing and running, trying to give their flower offering to the Kali Goddess. Our 'guide' grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to the front, while I was slowly starting to panic because of claustrophobia...it was insane! Once we left, he took us to the next building...the sacrifice building (of course we didn't know this in advance!) Apparently every day about 30 goats are sacrificed in the temple, and then sent across the street to the Mother Theresa mission to be fed to the poor...sounds like a nice idea, but horrible up close! Before I knew what was happening, we were standing in a room, and right outside I could see a goat's HEAD lying on the ground, and a giant bucket filled with blood! I turned away, only to realize that the black, sticky stuff all over the floor was not dirt...it was blood...and we weren't wearing shoes!!

And it gets worse! He next lead us through an alleyway, in our bare feet, stepping on what was most likely sewage, to the reflecting pool so we could make an offering to Shiva. By this point Brook and I were laughing hysterically just to keep from crying, we were so traumatized! When it was my turn to pray to Shiva, our guide, who we now noticed had track marks all up his arms (I've seen many people shooting up here...Calcutta has a huge drug problem) informed me that I now had to make a donation to the poor. I was pretty shaken and basically traumatized, and NOT in a generous mood, so I offered 10 rupees, which was turned down! Brook, who went after me, said that next to my name in the guestbook he had written 2000 rupees...very sketchy.

Needless to say, we were all VERY happy to be safe in a taxi after that experience! After a nice de-stress over lunch, we headed to the main market, only to have to walk through a long entrance of chickens kept in tiny cages and open sewage, topped off right at the end by a line of urinals...definitely a day of sensory overload!!

Once inside the market we made a beeline to the first sari shop we saw, and had a lovely time trying on saris. I bought a super pretty green and red one, which I'm sure I'll make lots of excuses to wear at home!

The past few days here in Calcutta have been absolutely exhausting...all the harassment and constant assault on the senses that is just not the same in the south. It's definitely been full of ups and downs...I'm looking forward to heading to Varanasi tomorrow and getting out of such a big city!

Varanasi is supposed to be full of hassle and touts as well...I guess I won't really have any peace until I head up into the mountains!!! (or until I head to London!)

xxx
meg

Namaste all,

Oh how I love Varkala! It's a beautiful little beach town perched above the ocean on cliffs. All the shops, restaurants and guesthouses sit precariously close to the cliff, meaning that you can hear the ocean from your room, and watch the sunset from the roof (or your dinner table!)

Getting here, of course, was not so sublimely calm. I met up with a nice French couple headed the same way and we sat together on the train, along with a large, loud, very entertaining group of older Italian travelers, each with at least 2 very large pieces of luggage. The train only stops in Varkala for 1 minute (exactly 60 seconds!) even though most of the tourists get off there, so before the train pulled into the station, me, the French couple, all the Italians, and ALL of our luggage were crammed into the narrow doorway, ready to dash off. I managed to get off quickly, the French girl had to rush off as the train started moving, and as it pulled away, we realized that three of the Italians, and their massive suitcases, were still on the train! A hilarious few minutes of jumping Italians, tossed suitcases, and lots of laughter ensued. Once we were all safely off the train, we quickly made our way through the town of Varkala to the cliffside, where I found a cute little guesthouse run by a very sweet, very enthusiastic Indian woman who made sure I had everything I needed.

I spent all my time in Varkala lying on the beach with my new friend, Cath, a teacher from South Africa. We spent the entire time lying on the beach under an umbrella with copious amounts of spf 50 sunscreen on; because of some ozone thing, the sun in Varkala is VERY strong and even with sunscreen AND an umbrella, you can still get burnt. We went swimming a lot - the surf was nice and big and the weather was over 40 degrees each day, so we needed the cool down!

I managed to control myself with the shopping, only stepping into a few little stores, all run by Tibetans for some reason, for small items. I'm saving my big shop for Calcutta and Delhi, where things are cheap if you bargain hard (which I love to do!)

South India has been lovely...so laid back and relaxed compared with north India. It's been lovely to see the backwaters and get in some quality beach time, since I won't be at a beach again for a long time! Today I caught a train back up to Kochi, and tomorrow I have a flight (with 2 stopovers of course) up to Calcutta. I'm excited to get back to the chaos and craziness of northern India...my break in the south has been very rejuvenating. After a few days in Calcutta I head to Varanasi, where I'm meeting up with my friend Ash and then heading into the Himalayas!

I can't believe that I head to London 3 weeks from today, and head to Toronto in exactly 6 weeks! The past 8 months have been so incredible and have flown by...I feel like it should still be August!!

Here are the rest of my Kerala pictures...such a beautiful state! It's no wonder they call it "God's Own Country"
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2358840&id=13604534&l=8670c3530f

xxx
meg